Northumberland
by downton fan
Summary: This is a brief look at what could happen in the Christmas Special. I welcome your thoughts.


Robert, the Earl of Grantham, found himself late one night wandering the halls of Brancaster Castle in Northumberland with only a candle to light his way. The castle was a vast labyrinth of stairs, hallways, rooms, and cubby holes. He was silently cursing Lord and Lady Sinderby for his room assignment on this invited stay to the castle they leased for some autumn shooting. As he passed yet another staircase he heard Lord Sinderby's deep voice ask, "Can we help you find something, Lord Grantham?" The man sounded displeased, as usual.

"No thank you. I think I know where I'm headed." replied Robert in a hopeful tone as he sought to move on. Then he felt a hand on his elbow with the intention of stopping his forward progress. In a slightly lower, quicker, and, if it were possible, more displeased voice, Lord Sinderby said,

"Lord Grantham, I won't have you wandering these halls with God knows what purpose in mind, courting scandal. Please return to your room now."

"I wouldn't need to be wandering these halls, Lord Sinderby, if you had seen fit to assign me a room closer to Lady Grantham's," Robert replied with obvious irritation in his voice. A softer, more reasonable tone emerged from behind Lord Sinderby.

"We'll have your room moved tomorrow, Lord Grantham. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused."

"Thank you, Lady Sinderby," replied Robert as he removed his arm from the grip of a disgruntled Lord Sinderby. "I'll say goodnight then."

Lord and Lady Sinderby each mumbled a "goodnight" and headed in the other direction.

"I told you we should have given them adjoining rooms," Lady Sinderby admonished.

"Who would have thought an English aristocratic couple would share a room," Lord Sinderby said with a shrug.

"But you forget dear, Lady Grantham is American." Lady Sinderby entwined her arm with her husband's as they made their way to their own shared room.

* * *

><p>The castle was so vast that electricity had not been wired throughout yet. Cora's room had a large fireplace that was roaring, providing much needed heat and light to the room. The tables held oil lamps, which reminded Cora of a time 12 years earlier when she resisted the addition of electricity in her own bedroom at Downton. In hindsight, she both appreciated the better lighting in her room at home, but also enjoyed the relaxed low lighting of this room and the sense of nostalgia she felt. Now if her husband were just here it would be perfect. Their travel to Northumberland was smooth and relatively uneventful. It had the added advantage of being closer than going to Duneagle as well. Robert was quietly excited the whole way. He didn't say much, but he had that eager, somewhat anxious look about him. He loved to travel and visit new places and it occurred to Cora that they didn't do it as often as they should. The scenery was beautiful and, despite being autumn, it was surprisingly sunny and warm looking. Looks could be deceiving though. It was actually quite a bit colder here than in Yorkshire.<p>

Cora heard her door creak open and looked to it squinting in the low light. It was Robert, finally.

"Where have you been, dear? Did you get lost?," Cora asked.

Robert sighed, audibly. "No, not really, but I had a run in with Lord Sinderby."

"Oh. How did that go?"

"Better than one might expect. He tried to send me back to my room and accused me of courting scandal, but fortunately Lady Sinderby was with him. She is so much more reasonable."

"So did she interrupt his scolding?"

"Yes, and I am promised a room closer to yours tomorrow."

"Oh, Robert, how embarrassing!"

"He was bound and determined to think the worst, Cora. I had to tell him where I was going," argued Robert.

"I suppose you're right," Cora replied. "Well, I'm just glad you're here now. Does your room have electric lighting?"

"No, and I had to use a candle to guide my way," answered Robert as he blew out his candle and placed it on an end table.

"It's kind of nice, don't you think? It reminds me of earlier times in our marriage," Cora added.

Robert smiled and moved to sit with her on the chaise lounge. "Yes, it is nice," he said in a lower voice, recalling some memorable nights with his wife. He slowly took the book out of Cora's hands, closed it and placed it aside.

"Don't you have to get up early for the shooting, Robert?"

"Yes, but I worked too hard to get here to turn in now," he replied with a smirk. "I missed you, my love."

"Missed me?," Cora asked, surprised. "But we've been traveling together."

"Along with the rest of the family. We haven't had a moment alone." Robert reached his hand to Cora's cheek and stroked it gently. She leaned into his caress at the same time Robert moved forward to softly press his lips against hers. Cora felt the heat rise from her chest to her face and reached a hand out to his shoulder. As their lips met again and again their kiss deepened. Robert couldn't be sure if he initiated this or Cora; it didn't matter really. It had always been like this for them. Robert's father and Cora's mother warned them not to expect much satisfaction from the physical side of their marriage. It was a duty afterall, but both were wrong. From the beginning, kissing Cora, touching her, making love to her had always been right. Cora felt the same. Robert's hands came to her waist as he pulled her closer to his body, wanting to feel the heat of her against him. He felt Cora arch into him and knew his instincts about tonight had been right. Let the Sinderbys gossip about them if they wanted to. He didn't care as long as he had Cora to hold tonight.


End file.
